What is the Nipah virus that has led to 100 quarantining in India?
Fears for spread of infectious virus, that inspired 2011 film Contagion, after five cases in India
Nearly 100 people have been asked to stay in their homes in India to prevent the spread of a deadly Nipah virus.
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Five cases have been reported in West Bengal, as per Press Trust of India, which has led authorities to ask people connected to quarantine.
The action is considered necessary to stamp out the spread, as Nipah viruses are considered a big threat, especially on the back of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The most likely source of infection is a patient who had been admitted to the same hospital previously,” a West Bengal health official told the Telegraph.
“That individual is being treated as the suspected index case, and investigations are ongoing.”
NHS hospitals are currently battling an outbreak of norovirus cases, but there have not been any Nipah cases in the UK.
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What is a Nipah Virus?
The Nipah virus is a relatively rare phenomenon that can see transmissions from animals to humans, but is a concern for health officials and its potential devastation inspired the 2011 film Contagion.
“Nipah virus infection is a zoonotic illness that is transmitted to people from animals, and can also be transmitted through contaminated food or directly from person-to-person,” the World Health Organization has said.
The WHO considers it a pathogen because of its ability to spread and cause an epidemic, while there is not a vaccine to prevent it.
Illnesses associated in sufferers of Nipah virus include asymptomatic infection to acute respiratory illness and fatal encephalitis, according to the organisation,
The WHO added that the virus has caused only a few known outbreaks in Asia but it infects a wide range of animals and causes severe disease and death in people.
Most sufferers have contracted Nipah after coming into contact with sick pigs or their contaminated tissue, while it has also been spread from consumption of fruit that has come into contact with infected bats.
Previous outbreaks have been contained to Bangladesh, India, Malaysia and Singapore.
“Human-to-human transmission of Nipah virus has also been reported among family and care givers of infected patients,” the WHO added.